An Unknown Woman
Portrait Miniature
ca. 1590 (painted)
ca. 1590 (painted)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
In 2014 it was suggested that this miniature of an unknown woman was a portrait of Emilia or Amelia Bassano [Amelia or Emilia Bassano, married to Alphonso Lanier]. See John Hudson 'Shakespeare's Dark Lady: Amelia Bassano Lanier the Woman Behind Shakespeare's Plays?' (2014). Another miniature by Nicholas Hilliard in the V&A’s collection (museum no. P.134-1910) has also been suggested as a portrait of Amelia or Emilia Bassano, married to Alphonso Lanier.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | An Unknown Woman (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Watercolour on vellum stuck to a plain card |
| Brief description | Portrait miniature of an unknown woman, watercolour on vellum, painted by Nicholas Hilliard, ca. 1590. |
| Physical description | Portrait miniature of a woman, head and shoulders, oval, mounted on card. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Content description | Portrait of a woman, oval, head and shoulders, turned slightly to left and looking to front; the sitter is wearing a large collar. |
| Styles | |
| Gallery label | Treasures of the Royal Courts: Tudors, Stuarts and the Russian Tsars label text:
Unknown lady
About 1590
England
By Nicholas Hilliard
Watercolour on vellum stuck on to a plain card
Purchased with funds from the R.H. Stephenson Bequest
V&A: P.8-1945
|
| Credit line | Purchased from the funds of the R. H. Stephenson Bequest |
| Object history | COLLECTIONS: Purchased in 1945 from H. E. Backer, 1 Elm Tree Road, St. John’s Wood, London, who state that he had acquired it by private treaty from a family said to have owned it for a long time. Purchased with funds from the R. H. Stevenson Bequest. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | In 2014 it was suggested that this miniature of an unknown woman was a portrait of Emilia or Amelia Bassano [Amelia or Emilia Bassano, married to Alphonso Lanier]. See John Hudson 'Shakespeare's Dark Lady: Amelia Bassano Lanier the Woman Behind Shakespeare's Plays?' (2014). Another miniature by Nicholas Hilliard in the V&A’s collection (museum no. P.134-1910) has also been suggested as a portrait of Amelia or Emilia Bassano, married to Alphonso Lanier. |
| Bibliographic reference | Strong, Roy. Artists of the Tudor Court: the Portrait Miniature Rediscovered 1520-1620.. London: The Victoria and Albert Museum, 1983. Cat. 88, p. 78. Part Citation:
"The miniature was formerly wrongly identified as Mary, Queen of Scots. Little of the costume is visible which poses difficulties in dating. Both Graham Reynolds and Erna Auerbach date it c. 1588 and indeed there is costume evidence to support this (see Roy Strong, The English Icon, p. 188 (136) dated 1587)." |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | P.8-1945 |
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| Record created | June 30, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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